December 10 was demo day at Cannon Mountain. I pushed about a dozen skis as far as early season conditions in the east would allow on limited terrain. Testing conditions involved a single route down the mountain mostly groomed with patches of small bumps and loose snow on the sides of the trails. Preference the evaluations with appropriate background information is vital for the readers proper understanding of the reviews in the correct context. I am a 6’1″ male weighing in at around 220 pounds and come from a racing background but continue to push myself in the off piste direction and favor natural snow conditions on steep trails. My skiing style is rather aggressive though developing towards more finesse and grace combined with power. I love to turn, speed is not something I look for at all but rather seek control and quickness of turn. At the time of the demo, my primary ski is a Volkl P50 Motion 183cm.
Dynastar 8000 Legend (178)
116/79/102
Beginning with the best first. Wow. Killer short turns, nimble despite being the widest ski I have ever tried. The 79mm measurement under the boot had me rather skeptical but I could not believe how I snapped this sucker all over the place with ease. Quick, sharp, and responsive on all terrain including GS turns on the groomers much to my surprise. Big arcs were certainly not great but decent considering how much this ski excelled on loose powder, bumps, and crud. This ski allowed me to dance on snow and hugged the snow like no other ski I have ever tried. At 1765g per ski, I opted to purchase this ski and mount it up AT.
Dynastar Legend 4800 (178)
114/75/102
The Dynastar rep thought for sure that I would enjoy the 4800 more than the 8000 based on his experiences. But the rep could not have been more wrong! I appreciate the opportunity to sample the 4800 in comparison to the 8000. If anything, I figured that the slightly narrower waist would make the 4800 more diverse and better on groomed terrain. Turns out that the 4800 was far less responsive than the 8000 and performed worse in every conceivable measurement. I suspect my weight, body build, and skiing style contributed to the mis-match. However, it was clear to me that the 8000 was simply the superior ski for the superior skier in comparison to the 4800.
Volkl Supersport Six Star (177)
114/68/99
This was not a serious demo in the try before you buy sense but rather simply a joy ride. I have been a huge fan of Volkl since first clicking into a pair and knew this ski was just ridiculous for carving high speed. I actually tried a bump or two to start things off but they were especially sluggish as expected. Letting the skis run, I was amazed at their lack of a speed limit. Top carving skills only and don’t let up the forward pressure. Wow, these skis are a blast and make groomers fun again. “New England Hard Pack” was cut up just like butter. The Volkl Six Star performed night and day better than any other demo ski I tested on scraped and hard pack surfaces. I will never doubt my technique again when I am sliding around on a scraped up groomer on mid-fat skis as the Six Stars prove that sometimes not having the right ski is really to blame.
Elan M666 (176)
116/76/102
The M666 is a really solid ski and was my second favorite of those I demoed. Short snappy turns were fun and non-groomed is where this ski excelled. The tail felt really solid under my weight and the construction is solid as well. Stability at speed was less than satisfactory and groomed handling was nothing fantastic. I found myself bullying this ski a bit and thought that I might have been happier on the 184cm if it had been available. Overall, I really liked the M666 but not enough to pull the trigger.
Volkl 724 Pro (177)
115/77/104
This ski is billed as an “all mountain ski” that is good for the front side and the back side. All in one. Perfect, right!? Well, maybe not so perfect. I experienced great Volkl groomer action including awesome GS style turns with great stability at speed and excellent grip. But I felt the ski was very poor on short quick snappy turns and small soft bumps. Also, the ski did not feel was solid under my boots. I wanted more pop and action and was not too impressed with this less than lively offering.
Salomon 720 (171)
114/80/108
Not quite sure how I ended up on this board. Initially, the rep pulled out a front side groomer machine that did not interest me. I mention woods, powder, and natural snow conditions but ended up being given a twin tip probably better suited for the park! I think the Salomon Rep would have done better providing me the 1080 instead. The 780 did okay at short turns on steeper sections of the trail and was responsive at slower speeds. Stability, powder, and bigger turns on groomed terrain were just sad. I sped back for a different ski without really giving this one a complete work out because it just was not something I was even slightly interested in.
Atomic M:11 (172)
127/76/114
The M:11 got some of my lowest marks of the day. After dealing with the cocky Atomic rep who thought because he is 250 lbs and skis 160’s that everyone should, I barely had much stomach to deal with a ski that was not compatible with my skiing style. Perhaps it was just that the 172cm length was 11cm’s shorter than what I am used to skiing. Regardless, I found this ski lacking in most areas of performance. Shortcomings included short quick nimble turns, stability, pop, liveliness, and power. The ski was okay with wide GS turns and is an incredibly solid and well constructed ski. A bit too heavy for my preferences though. The M:11 seemed like it would be great in powder and crud which i really could not sample but had no love for my typical on piste skiing habits.
Rossignol B2 (176)
113/76/93
Another front side/back side all in one deal that did nothing for me. I do not have a good relationship with Rossignol after having split a pair of 9.9x’s after barely more than two years of use. I do not trust their composition and durability. Perhaps their construction and build is better suited to lighter skiers that use more finesse than power. But for myself, I found B2 unresponsive on short snappy turns, horrible at GS turns on the groomers, lack luster in bumps, and lacking pop and energy. Seems like this ski would be fine in powder. Probably my least favorite ski tested today along with the Atomic M:11.
Head Monster (177)
112.2/73.2/101.5
The Head Monster seemed very lack luster and nondescript. It did everything proficiently but I could not find anything special about this ski. If you set the edge, the Monsters would definitely go. Though turning in general lacked the performance and liveliness that I prefer. These solidly build skis were stable in all conditions. Similar to the B2, I thought this might be great pair of skis in powder but were not meeting my requirements for on trail action.
Ogasaka Eturn (180)
(103/75/93)
Skied a pair of Ogasakas more out of curiosity than serious intent on evaluation as an Ogasaka USA office was located in the building where I worked. The Eturn is yet another of the all mountain mid-fats that did nothing for me. This ski line seems rather pricey considering they do not have the reputation here in the States. I figured they must be priced according to performance for sure but that does not seem to be the case. Perhaps the rep did not hand me the ski that I was looking for and I got a bad evaluation based on communication issues.